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EQAO Profiles Two Secondary Schools in North Eastern Ontario for Improving Student Achievement

TORONTO, Sept. 24, 2014 /CNW/ - Algoma District School Board's Michipicoten High School (Wawa) and Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board's St. Mary's College (Sault Ste. Marie) are being profiled in the Education Quality and Accountability Office's (EQAO's) Provincial Secondary School Report, released today, for their committed efforts and success improving student achievement.

Thirteen secondary schools across the province are being profiled this year. Each has been identified because of the notable improvement in its EQAO results over time. Each school team has shared how EQAO and other data have been used to guide instructional programs, which in turn have helped improve the literacy and numeracy skills of students.

QUOTES

"We pride ourselves here at Michipicoten for having developed a caring, challenging and safe environment in which students can excel. Through our 'Team Viking' approach, we have used EQAO data to help improve our literacy skills. All the staff focuses on literacy content and improvement."— Petar Kusic, Principal, Michipicoten High School

"Our collective work to improve student achievement in Grade 9 mathematics has been based on using the collaborative inquiry model in all of our elementary schools and in our secondary departments to determine the greatest student need and to implement specific, measurable strategies to address that need. The use of evidence from EQAO assessments and a common language of learning goals, success criteria and descriptive feedback has assisted both teachers and students in this process."— Larry Pezzutto, Principal, St. Mary's College

"The schools being profiled demonstrate significant progress in supporting student achievement. They have used EQAO data, alongside in-school evidence, in planning improvements to their programs and teaching practices. These particular schools are seeing positive results in student achievement as a result of their efforts. I trust that these stories will serve as an inspiration to other school communities across the province."— Bruce Rodrigues, Chief Executive Officer, EQAO

EQAO's assessments measure student achievement in reading, writing and mathematics in relation to Ontario Curriculum expectations. The resulting data provide accountability and a gauge of quality in Ontario's publicly funded education system. By providing this important evidence about learning, EQAO acts as a catalyst for increasing the success of Ontario students.

The objective and reliable results from EQAO's assessments complement the information obtained from classroom and other assessments to provide students, parents, teachers and administrators with a clear and comprehensive picture of student achievement and a basis for targeted improvement planning at the individual, school, school board and provincial levels. EQAO helps build capacity for the appropriate use of data by providing resources that educators, parents, policy-makers and others in the education community can use to improve learning and teaching. EQAO distributes an individual report to each student who writes an assessment, and posts school, school board and provincial results on its Web site.